Builders Attempt To Put Open-space Law In A Corner

May 30, 1988|By David Ibata.

Environmentalists are rallying against what they say is an attempt by municipal, real estate and farming interests to gut the state`s open-space act and strip townships of the power to seize land to conserve undeveloped areas. The Illinois Environmental Council and the Open Lands Project are uniting behind Lake County`s Libertyville Township and other open-space advocates to oppose a bill now pending in the legislature that would amend the Township Open Space Act of 1975.

The amendments ``basically revoke the power of townships to create open-space districts,`` said David Eubanks, manager of policy and planning for Open Lands, which began contacting state representatives last week to tell them of its opposition.

``The amendments, for all practical purposes, would gut the (open-space)

act,`` said Virginia Scott, executive director of the environmental council.

``The act, especially in the rapidly urbanizing area of northeastern Illinois, is one of the few available tools to preserve open space,`` Scott said. ``This is clearly something home builders and other developers would like to see out of their way.``

The proposed amendments would give municipalities the power to veto land acquisitions by open-space districts inside or within 1/2 miles of their boundaries. This measure could throttle Libertyville Township`s present land- acquisition program and cripple efforts to create an open-space district in neighboring Vernon Township.

A township would have to disclose what land it intended to buy and how much it would cost before conducting a referendum to set up an open space district.

Additionally, no township in Cook County could create an open-space district. This provision would destroy a plan by open-space advocates in Cook County`s Northfield Township to form such a district to prevent the development of the 1,100-acre Techny property at Willow and Waukegan Roads.

``This bill as it now stands eliminates our whole effort,`` said James W. Mabie, a Northfield resident and finance director of the Northfield Conservancy, which supports the open-space district.

Libertyville Township was the first and, to date, the only Illinois township to set up an open-space district. During the last three years, its district has spent $5.6 million to acquire 653 acres. It has condemnation suits pending on 1,500 more acres.

While people like Eubanks contend that the land in dispute is a small percentage of the 23,000 total acres in Libertyville Township, the

condemnations have angered powerful organizations.

The Illinois Municipal League, Illinois Association of Home Builders, Illinois Association of Realtors and Illinois Farm Bureau are among the chief supporters of the legislation to amend the open-space law, which passed the Senate last year and is pending in the House.

These same groups bottled up in a House committee a rival bill that would have strengthened townships and extended the open-space act to all counties. The present law permits open-space districts only in counties with populations exceeding 250,000, a figure that excludes such fast-growing areas as McHenry County.

Negotiations on compromise legislation broke down in mid-May, and pro-and anti-development forces have not met since then.

The present law lets township`s voters decide by referendum whether to set up an open-space district and sell bonds to fund acquisitions. The district then can acquire land to be preserved, by condemnation if necessary. F.T. ``Mike`` Graham, Libertyville Township supervisor and Lake County board member, said that without a compromise, the issue probably would expire without being voted on in the legislative session.

But Charles Schrader, legislative council for the home builders group, said, ``We`re hoping this bill will be voted on in some form.``

Conservancy leaders are scheduled to meet on Thursday to decide what to do, Mabie said, adding that they may have their members ``mount a letter-writing campaign to key legislators and possibly go to Springfield to lobby them.``

Northfield Township also has scheduled a public hearing to discuss the open-space plan for 7 p.m. June 16 in Glenbrook South High School, Glenview.